The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Students who once dined on chocolate bars and potato chips for lunch now enjoy a much healthier diet at Creighton Community School. This past fall, the school ditched some of its unhealthy canteen foods in favour of a hot entree each day along with items like yogurt, sandwiches and veggies. "The idea started last year when we saw kids who were eating three or four pizza pops for lunch," said school coordinator Jane Robillard. "It wasn't a balanced lunch." Robillard admitted that it took the students some time to adjust, but the healthier foods eventually caught on. "The first few weeks, kids did complain that there were no chocolate bars or chips or pizza pops, but now we're sold out every day," she said. "There are no complaints now. It took a month for the students to adjust and that was it." Not surprisingly, the response from parents to the idea was positive from the beginning. "I have not had one parent complain," said Robillard. The school canteen has proven that eating healthy doesn't have to be boring. Students are treated to a variety of menu items, such as soup, yogurt, veggie bags, wraps and sandwiches. The more health-conscious approach may have even rubbed off on students who don't use the canteen. Robillard said she hasn't much junk food in the lunches kids bring to school. To compliment the new canteen menu, the school's soft drink machine has been replaced with one that dispenses fruit juice and bottled water. There is also an extracurricular program in place that promotes exercise, and nutrition worker Robertine Elliott and co-worker Joanne Kitchen help students work out well-rounded menus. It's all part of a proactive approach by school staff to tackle the problem Ñ some call it an epidemic Ñ of children not eating as well as they should. "People are really sitting up and paying attention that today's children are overweight, they get less exercise now, and it's a health issue that we really need to address," said Robillard.
